Amalgams
by miserableyetmagicaldream
Summary: Judy gulped. This was not suppose to happen. No, this wasn't real. There was no way that she, of all animals, was pregnant. She was sure, absolutely sure that nothing had happened. She may have fallen asleep but... never. She wouldn't have. It couldn't be his either. Plus, she had other things to worry about. All her case files: the robberies, murders, and the violent soldiers.
1. 3 Weeks Ago Part 1

**Author's Note**

 **I have gotten myself obsessed with an animated movie. Oops. I think I'm a bit too old for this but honestly I don't care. It's going to be a romance/adventure/sci-fi story; it starts as romance though. Rated T in case I wanna do something gruesome or too lovey dovey. You get my point. It would mean a lot if you reviewed and told me what you think :D**

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Judy gulped. This was not suppose to happen. No, this wasn't real. There was no way that she, of all animals, was pregnant. She was sure, absolutely sure that nothing had happened. She may have fallen asleep but... never. She wouldn't have. It couldn't be his either.

 _-THREE WEEKS AGO-_

Chief Bogo had just instructed her and Nick to take another extremely important case. Judy flipped through the file, looking at the pictures of the abandoned labs, the spilled chemicals, and somehow a teddy bear that was torn apart. Apparently the lab was robbed, but nobody was sure of why or how. The robber had managed to get away with a whole lot of some boxes - with something very valuable in one of them- and left no tracks. Well, none until she and her partner found some, anyway.

She wasn't paying attention to her surroundings and had decided to stand in the corner somewhere to scrutinize the details more. Every time she brought something to Nick, he would quickly assess the situation before she could even say anything. Not today. Today she was going to figure this out and show him that she could do it too.

"...I like you," she heard someone say. There was Nick, with a somewhat serious face. "I _like_ like you."

For a second, the world seemed to stop and she looked up from the file. Gently, he took the file out of her paws, and started reading. His paw was so warm... _Why did I just notice it now? Why did he say that to me? What?_ Like _like? Isn't that love? Do I love him? I... I don't know where I'd be without him, that's for sure. I've never..._ Then her partner started laughing.

"What are you laughing at?" Judy asked, her cheeks hot. Wait, was he talking to her?

"You didn't respond to my question," he said playfully, "what if I told you 'I like you'?"

"Why would you ask something like that?!" She asked heatedly, embarrassed. This was crossing the line. Nick would always say something unbelievable just to get her attention off the assignment file... _Snap, he's done it again_ , Judy thought to herself silently. How could she get distracted so easily?

Ignoring her question, he smiled. "Let's just head on over to the lab then, shall we?"

They headed toward the lab, which was only a few miles away from the police station. On their way, Nick casually turned on the radio and started humming.

"We're heading out to solve a very serious case, and you're _humming_? What's the occasion?" Judy asked, her embarrassment from a few ten minutes ago fading.

"Are you not going to tell me about the case? I mean, I read the file but it seems I was paying attention to something else at the time..."

Haha. Nick was being nice today. She perked up and began explaining. "Today must be my day. Okay, the lab use to have these boxes, it's not even a new lab. It's old and was used until ten years ago, when some incident happened. Since then, it's a storage for scientific equipment, just a bunch of unused stuff."

"Huh. That's weird."

For the rest of the trip, they teased each other talked about the case. Nothing about the "I like you" spoken earlier. Judy was pretty confused, but then she figured that it was all a joke, it meant absolutely nothing. Absolutely nothing. Yet she couldn't piece together the awkward remaining feeling she had.

The lab itself did not look that bad. There were, however, light tire tracks. They were definitely not from Nick and Judy, probably the tracks of A donkey in a lab coat was waiting for them when they arrived.

"I'm so glad you're here, officers. I just checked which boxes went missing... and... and..." She looked as though she was about to burst into tears. Nick waited patiently, though Judy could tell that he just wanted the donkey to stop talking and let them investigate. Finally, the donkey collected herself. "The box with accident items are missing too. They're quite dangerous, and very valuable. Many people would fight for these-"

Before the scientist could start sobbing again, Nick interfered. "What are these items that you've lost?"

"I'm just told it's important. I'm sure we need to get it back before..."

Judy raised her eyebrow. "Before?"

"I don't know," sobbed the donkey even more, "something horrible!"

"Your name is?" Nick asked, fighting the urge to roll his eyes at this _useful_ information.

"Sandra, Sandra Grey."

"Well, Ms Grey, I assure you that we will do our best. Just stop-" _sobbing like a dying_ _horse_ , he was going to say, but thought better of it and shut his mouth. No matter what he thought, he would never let others know what he was thinking.

"I suppose we'll see you around," Judy said, as the two left to inspect other parts of the building.

"Woah, it looks like an acid burn..." Nick mumbled as he looked at a patch of floor that was eroded; the wooden floor, which Nick assumed was laid after the lab became a storage, was black and looked burnt instantaneously. This was probably where the spill was. He was about to take a picture of it until he heard a slight yelp. Judy.

He ran in the direction, forgetting to even take a picture. If something like this spilled on her... he couldn't even think. She was in another room with strange tubes, all of which contained a clear liquid. It was just water. Probably. Then again what did he know about chemicals?

"Cottontail, what happened?" He asked, trying to hide his overly concerned tone. He should be moderately concerned, like a partner would be.

"I'm okay, I accidentally spilled this liquid on myself-"

Nick breathed out a breath he didn't even know he was holding.

"-it doesn't really smell like anything, it's probably just water."

Nick gave a smooth smile.

"Oh. Good. Well, since we're both here, we might as well just look around together, y'know. That way we can consult each other when we find something suspicious."

Judy grinned. "Scared?"

 _Not for the reasons you think._ "You wish."

After three hours of scouring the place, Nick and Judy had not found anything that was worth taking a look at. They did, however, find out that there was going to be an auction that sold scientific equipment a week from today. For the next few days, all they needed to do was relax... well, not exactly relax but pay attention to other cases.

The next morning was supposed to be ordinary. Until Judy's childhood friend decided to make an appearance. The rabbit, like most of them in the burrow, seemed scared as he approached her cubicle in the corner of the office. He obviously had never been around that many predators before. His normal casual attire was a red dot in the middle of a white paper in a police station.

"Judy!" He exclaimed as he saw Judy appear. Nick watched from the side, wondering if he should go introduce himself or not.

"Goodness, Ronnie! How are you? What are you doing here?" She called back once she saw him, and gave him a hug. _The guy's a pretty awkward hugger_ , Nick thought to himself.

"Great, your mom and dad mentioned that you were working here now," Ronnie glanced around nervously, "it's pretty impressive, I mean I would get all jittery." Nick almost snickered. _Of course you would. That tail's shaking like a chihuahua that's had a little too much sugar._

Judy laughed and shrugged. "You get use to it."

"I was just here... because... well, I miss you. The Burrow's not the same without you, and I just thought that maybe... and your parents-" _Wow. Way to go. Using her parents._

"You came all the way to meet me?" Judy asked, surprised and touched at the same time.

"Of course I would, Jude, I'd do anything... except maybe get eaten by a wolf. Or a fox. Or anything that could devour me-"

Nick was getting sick of this Ronnie bunny. He was probably the prime example of what a dumb bunny was. But Judy was laughing.

Nick strode right next to Judy. "Carrots, want to get to work? Just because we didn't find anything yesterday doesn't mean that we shouldn't be looking for more leads. Oh, hi, Judy's friend." He gave toothy grin, revealing his sharp canines.

Ronnie started shaking even more. "Oh man, I think I should go now... I- I'll catch you around... maybe at a nearby pawpsicle stand?" And he turned around stiffly.

"Yeah but Ronnie-"

Before Judy could say anything else to call him back, Chief Bogo appeared.

"Hopps! Wilde! What are you doing still _here_?"

"Sorry chief. We were just looking over the files and someone came around. It's all taken care of now. Heading out right now." Nick said smoothly, and took Judy's wrist. Today they were suppose to go to talk to Professor Ploddenton,the former owner of the lab, probably the only one who knew what was actually in the box.

"So, I guess we're just visiting the guy's home today?" Nick asked lazily.

"Chief Bogo isn't here right now. Want to explain what that was all about?" Judy asked with a slightly irritable tone.

Nick gave a sly smile. "I just wanted to greet your friend in the most friendly way possible."

"You know that I know enough to know that you were trying to freak him out."

"What a complex sentence. Well, he wasn't holding fox repellent."

Judy started laughing, an adorable sound. "Whatever. Just be nice, okay?"

Nick smirked. "I can't promise you anything."

They arrived in front of a large building, half of it made out of rusted metal. this place too, seemed very old. It wasn't really possible for anyone to be actually living in. There were weeds all over the place. But once Judy looked closer, she realized that a light was on on the second floor. The scientist was in there. The fox and the bunny walked up to the door, looking at each other, wondering if this was a good idea at all. In the end, they had decided that it could be very important, so Nick knocked on the door. No one came out even after the fourth knock. Thinking that it was too much, Nick tried just opening the door. And it worked.

"You can't just barge into someone's home like that! We should be more patient," Judy told him, and he couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"We're ZPD. We're working for the good of the people, you know. And if opening this door could help a lot of people -which it probably will- it's best that we do it. So many things could change in a minute."

"You keep telling yourself that."

The two officers climbed up the stairs and found the room that had the turned-on light. Judy knocked softly on the door, and noticed that it was open. Inside, an old turtle was watching TV. The turtle did not move at all, even when the two entered.

"Excuse me," Judy began, not waiting for the turtle to turn around, "we're from ZPD and we'd like to ask you a few questions."

The turtle didn't move at all.

"Um, hello...?" Judy tried again. The two officers walked up to the turtle, who was still blankly staring forward.

Then, in rapid motion, the turtle gripped Nick's arm and put a needle close to it. Nick gasped, and tried to wriggle out of the turtle's grasp, which was mutated. The turtle had sickly green fingers with an iron tight grip.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you..." Professor Ploddenton murmured in a low dangerous voice. "Who knows what's inside this syringe? It could change you, kill you, or not do anything at all."

 _Change me? Kill me? Nothing at all? Yeah right. What if the change is just like the night howlers?_ Nick felt sick, his heart pumping about a thousand times quicker than before.

"Let him go! We just want to ask a few questions, and we'll be on our way," Judy said, in attempt to be calm and sort things out. She didn't want to startle the needle-holding professor.

"And what are those questions of? Nobody has bothered me in years. Why now?" Professor Ploddenton spoke in crisp tones. He still held the needle pointing towards Nick's arm.

Judy's amethyst flickered toward the sharp end of the needle. Even thought she was nervous, her voice came out calm, indifferent, professional. "The equipment from your former lab was stolen a few days ago. There was a box, and Ms Sandra Grey, your lab assistant said there were important things in the box that was taken. We just want to know what was inside and who could've taken it. We're trying to catch the thief."

The turtle paled slightly. "I assure you that that box was never opened by me. I have no idea what's inside." He let go of Nick, who, without hesitation, backed away from the crazed man with syringe.

"You're lying," he snarled. "Is it the same stuff that made your foot a hand? That's not normal for a turtle."

Nick knew he was making a wild guess, but it was worth it. As long as he wasn't arms reach from the turtle, he would be okay. He could say all the mean things he wanted. He also wanted to take the syringe and let the labs in the police station examine it. _There are chemicals out there that change animals into something they aren't._

"I am a scientist, I experiment!" The professor simply shouted. "I cannot help you two!"

"When you decide you want to talk to us, call the police station and say that you want to talk to Officer Hopps and Wilde." Judy said coldly. Then to Nick: "Come on, let's go. Leave this guy to wallow in whatever of his life he has left." Judy whispered, and they left.

The two were once again on the road, and heading back to the police station. Nick kept thinking about the professor and how he had a hand. That was obviously not caused by a natural mutation. He had to have combined something and injected it to himself. Nick was no scientist but he knew that wasn't possible, was it?

"Are you okay? You're a bit quiet," Judy said, after five minutes of silence.

"Am I?" He simply said, and drove around the next corner. A car came out of nowhere, and they almost crashed. Nick hit the brakes as soon as he could,, and the two officers bounced back into their seats with their seat belts. They parked on the sides.

"Maybe I should drive now, you should just take a little break. Were you... scared?" She asked the last question softly.

Nick gave a small laugh. "Maybe."

"If it helps," she continued with the same soft tone, "I was scared too."

 _Was she scared for me like I was scared for her?_

"I know you were," Nick mustered a grin. "It was written all over your face."

"Hey! I was just being concerned! I mean, I really..." Judy blushed. "I like being around you. And the thought of you... the you right now gone... it would just...feel wrong. My life in Zootopia began when I met you."

God, he wanted to hug her. Nothing was stopping him anyway. So he did, at first awkwardly, then more tightly. When they broke apart, Nick pulled her into a more-than-friends gesture. It was weird, foxes weren't made for bunnies or vice versa. But it felt right. And Judy went along with it.


	2. 3 Weeks Ago Part 2

**A.N.**

 **WOAH GUYS. 50 follows!? You guys are awesome and motivate me to write more often hehe. I was planning for this to be a weekly thing (like it'll be updated every single week) but maybe I'll try to post faster and occasionally have 2 chapters a week. And as for people who guessed that the liquid that spilled on Judy made her pregnant after a hug, you are, unfortunately, wrong and weird, but in an interesting way. It won't be that easy... or maybe it won't even be that twisted ;) Keep reading, and don't forget to review! It means a lot (and I definitely welcome constructive criticism).**

 **OH and this chapter might be a little slow, but don't worry, the pace starts picking up from next chapter (I've already written it but just editing and whatever now).**

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They had made out in the car. Honestly, Judy didn't know what she was thinking, _making out_ with her partner. They were good friends, yes, but that didn't mean they could just go ahead and share kisses, for goodness sake. His kisses were soft though, despite his more pointed jaw. She had a feeling he stopped mainly because he wanted more, and he couldn't really bring himself to do more to Judy, not when they were only partners, not lovers. Now both of them just sat there in silence.

"We should get back," Nick finally said.

Thinking that there was nothing better to say, Judy simply nodded and started the car. Nick turned on the music, but it didn't lessen any of the awkwardness when the song _Say You're Just A Friend_ played. He gave a little groan and switched the radio station. This one was a talk show, and it was currently discussing "love troubles."

"So what you're saying is, you're scared to date someone because you're afraid to ruin the friendship?" A perky female voice spoke.

"Yes... and there's the fact that we're different species-"

At that, Nick turned off the radio annoyed, and rolled open the window, letting the breeze in.

"Did you mean it?" Judy asked.

Nick looked back at her with his glowing green eyes. "Mean what?"

"That joke. What if I told you I _like_ liked you?"

"Huh?" Nick said dumbly.

"You asked me that a few days ago to get the case file from me, remember?"

Nick blinked a few times. After a few seconds, acknowledgement creeped up his face. If Judy didn't know any better, she'd just think that Nick was getting hot in the car. But she did know him, and she knew that right now he was blushing and trying extremely hard to hide it.

"Oh. That. Sort of. I guess. I dunno. Maybe. I can't believe you remember that," he said, and nervously chuckled.

"Dumb fox," Judy laughed. "When you asked me that, I was going to say I may _like_ like you too."

"Really?" His ears slightly moved up a bit. It was adorable, she wanted to touch them so much. Realizing what she was thinking, she went a little red. She pretended to be focused on getting back to the police station.

"No. Maybe. I don't know." _Why am I talking so awkwardly? OH MY GOD. I DO_ LIKE _LIKE HIM._ "What I do know, though, is that I couldn't have made it without you as I'm pretty sure I mentioned earlier." She continued to stare straight ahead.

"Okay. If you say so," Nick said after a while. "I do _like_ like you."

Judy smiled. "I think I do too."

They drove back to the police station, and managed to think of the best way to fix the awkwardness between them: to simply pretend that nothing happened. They were Judy and Nick, the bunny and the fox. Nothing could happen anyway.

The rest of the day was rather uneventful; all the two had managed to do was to track down the rest of Professor Ploddenton's assistants. Tomorrow they were going for Amelia Grass, a deer who had worked for the turtle for over three years. recently, she was working in her own lab, making medicine or something. The two parted ways in front of the police station; Nick went back to his home under the river while Judy returned to her apartment.

Judy lay on her bed thinking. It didn't feel right to be not with him, even though both of them felt the same about each other, making them weird. _When did he start feeling like that? He did seem pretty worried the other day at the lab when I accidentally spilled something on myself. Maybe from way before? How could I have not noticed? Maybe I didn't want to notice because I didn't want to chase after something I couldn't have. I can't imagine what my parents would-_ Her thoughts were interrupted by her ringing phone. The only people who would call her were her parents.

"Hey Judy! How's my baby?" Her mom cried, "We haven't heard from you in ages!"

"You haven't called in weeks!" Her father chimed in.

"I was busy with work. There's this case file-"

"Judy, honey, you have to take a break! Don't you have any days off?" Her mom asked, concerned.

 _I haven't had a weekend in ages._ "A day per week, I guess," Judy lied.

"You know we're worried about you? I mean, we were married at your age and... you're so busy with work, you don't even have the time..."

Judy raised a questioning eyebrow at her mother. "To date? Is that what you mean? Is that why Ronnie's over here?"

When her mother looked hesitant, her father spoke up. "Of course not! He's just visiting Zootopia! He... err... needed to give you a message that, well, we want you back home for a weekend."

"Because you couldn't tell me yourself through a conversation like this... right?" Judy added skeptically.

"But... We'd be so embarrassed! You're all grown up, and we should give you some space... but we just miss you, darling!" Her mom said, a desperate tone in her voice.

"Well, I could go back for a day or two then... I did miss you guys. This weekend?"

Her parents nodded passionately. Judy stifled a giggle. Sometimes her parents could be so silly.

"We'll be waiting! At least call twice next week?"

Judy nodded, and turned off the phone.

Not wanting to think about her life, and how she had work all day every day, she opened the case file and began reading it again. There could be something else she missed, or a good question to be asked tomorrow. Then she wondered what Nick was doing.

The next morning came sooner than Nick wanted it to. He thwacked his alarm clock too hard that it went flying across the room. In less than ten minutes, he was ready to go out, a piece of toast in his mouth as he fumbled for his keys to lock the door. He took the train to the station and managed to finish eating. Judy was walking in front, and he could easily catch up with her. Or he could make her wait for him. But then he saw another bunny. Ronnie. He wasn't jealous, of course not -it made no sense for a fox to be jealous of a little bunny rabbit- but he felt irritated. Confrontation was too much work, and it was morning. No need to ruin a perfectly fine morning. So he just took a different route to the office and was careful not to let them see him.

"Hey cottontail, ready to go?" He asked, once she arrived at the office too. She nodded, and she looked much happier than usual.

"Guess what Ronnie just told me?"

Nick feigned interest in what that good for nothing scared bunny had to say. "What?"

"My parents started harvesting a lot of herbs that could potentially be helpful in treating many kinds of diseases. The Night Howlers were bad, of course, but they have other stuff now. It could actually treat severe diseases! And Ronnie's helping them choose which ones to plant," Judy rambled, excited. "This could actually change the medical industry!"

"Good for them, and Ronnie, of course," he said smoothly, detached, but nonetheless attentive-sounding.

They left with the car several moments later and arrived at Grass Laboratories. There literately was grass everywhere, and Nick smirked. _How creative._ The building itself was made of all nontransparent glass, making the building look like a giant 3D mirror. They entered the lobby and walked up to the information desk.

"Hi, is Doctor Amelia Grass here today? We just have a few questions for her." Nick showed the desk cat his ZPD badge, and the cat gestured them towards an elevator. "Fifth floor," she said, and continued to chew on her catnip.

The whole fifth floor was an office. Dr. Grass stood up as they walked in.

"I was informed that you have some questions for me? Please sit down, and I'll get some tea, and perhaps some cookies." The deer smiled and walked out of the main room.

"Fancy. She seems like a nice person," Judy grinned.

Nick rolled his eyes. "We're not here to enjoy tea and cookies, we're here to investigate. Be ready to take notes, Carrots."

Dr. Grass walked back into the room with straws and iced tea along with a platter of cookies, smiling pleasantly. "I hope you weren't expecting the traditional hot kind. I must say that it's getting a bit hot lately."

Judy smiled politely. "Maybe, but this is much better. Thank you so much."

Nick smiled as well, but couldn't shake off the feeling that this lady wasn't who she pretended to be. At least the ice tea she brought was actually ice tea and not something pretending to be ice tea. Or was it? _I'm getting paranoid_ , Nick thought to himself and took a few sips to cool down.

"We were just wondering," he began, "if you knew about a box in Professor Ploddenton's former lab. So far, we only know that what was inside was very important. What we don't know, however, was what was actually inside."

If the deer was nervous, Nick couldn't see it. "Straight to the point... So this is why you two officers are so famous for solving crimes. I don't remember, really, but it was some sort of serum," she said calmly. "All I know is that it could be dangerous, and should not be, in any circumstances, injected into anyone."

She drank her own tea thoughtfully. "We didn't destroy it though. It was an important step in our... shall we say, project. It became the base for our future research and that's how I ended up here. I've only looked at the serum's formula once or twice, but it was enough for me to get a few hints. I got my own lab because I managed to eliminate diseases that affected one type of species, but not another type of species. I won't delve in deep there, considering that it would take more than just a morning to go over it. And I must say that I don't have much spare time."

"What project?" Nick asked.

"I'm afraid I cannot tell you the specifics, since Professor Ploddenton was in charge. If you want to know, you should ask the professor. Us assistants were the only ones who knew, but we are not allowed to say a thing."

"We talked to him yesterday, but he didn't want to tell us. We didn't want to force it upon him, considering that he's the victim and not the criminal," Judy said, after taking a cookie.

Dr. Grass smiled ruefully. "I'm sorry. But this is a matter that I cannot discuss. And it looks like I'm out of time. I must go, it was nice to meet with you. If you do not have any more questions that aren't related to the project, then I shall leave. After you?"

Slowly, Judy and Nick got up and headed for the door. Nick's thoughts were spinning. _A serum that could not be injected into anyone. Why? Was it lethal? Was it something that the professor held? Could it change someone like the Night Howlers did? Or was it something entirely different?_ He was snapped out of his thoughts when Judy spoke.

"At least that was something. But even if we find out what's in the boxes, how will we find the thieves? If it's very valuable, wouldn't the thieves sell it? We also really need to talk to the professor again. At least try." She bit her lip. Nick thought that was adorable, but he knew she was scared. He was too.

"I don't think they want to sell it," he said grimly, "they want to use it."

Before Judy could say anything else, his phone vibrated. It was a call from Chief Bogo, which Nick found strange. _It must be urgent._ Something bad must have happened for the Chief to call him directly.

"Officer Wilde sir," he responded. He felt all the power drain out of him when the chief said his next sentence.

"Professor Ploddenton was murdered."

Judy watched as Nick put down his phone, face pale.

"He's dead. The professor, he was murdered." He murmured.

 _How could that possibly happen? We were finally getting somewhere_ , Judy thought furiously. She did feel a little sorry for the man, but it was hard when he had almost done something to Nick.

She felt that this was stupid, but she wanted to know whether or not Nick was thinking the same twisted theory. _The murderer was the same person who stole the box_. "Who could've done that to him? _"_

"We have to go check it out," Nick said, now determined. "Maybe the murderer left some tracks, we never know. Or... the murderer was the same person who stole the stuff. The murderer could've known that we were investigating. They didn't want us to know what was in the box."

Times like this, she loved having Nick as her partner. He was the only one who understood her.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go."

They arrived at the crime scene, where forensics were already poking around the place. There were multiple ZPD officers, whom were standing on the sidelines drinking coffee. Nick was still in the car, also packing some forensic equipment for their own use. Judy waited outside, also eavesdropping on a conversation since she had to wait.

"Creepy guy though," one of them, a rhino, was saying, "I don't see why we even work when that Hopps and Wilde take up all the interesting cases. If I didn't know any better, Bogo ships them."

The one beside him, an elephant, snorted. "And do you? A fox and a bunny?"

The rhino took a long sip of coffee. "It's a matter of fact that they like each other. Do you ever see them together? Honestly, it's kinda gross."

Judy felt humiliated, and wished she had never heard this conversation. _Gross? They might have some feelings for each other but... was that how people viewed them and their partnership?_

Nick was right beside her now, holding a little case. "Hey, ready to go in?"

"Yup," she said and managed a small smile. "We might be able to know more about our criminal today."

The place was as dirty as they found it last time. Except now, the second floor had yellow tape around it and blood was spilled everywhere. The professor's body was there too, covered in a white sheet. The forensic scientist, a little raccoon, was there packing his stuff.

"Can we see the body?" Nick asked.

"Yes but there's not much to see. It's pretty obvious though."

Nick slowly unveiled the body. To his surprise, there were obvious marks made by the murderer. There were two large hand marks on the turtle's neck. He was obviously choked to death by someone. Then clawed at, the four scratch marks were obvious, with dry blood around it. Judy gasped.

"I'm assuming that you already got the prints?" Nick asked the raccoon, who nodded. "Thanks for letting us interrupt your.. whatever you do. I hope that you inform us with the results once you get them."

With that, the two officers left. At least they would know who the murderer was. But now, looking at the handprints, it was impossible to think that the person could've been that sloppy. There was no way, if the murderer was the same as the thief, he or she would leave too-obvious tracks. It was purposeful.

"I don't think that..." Nick began, but Judy knew what he was going to say before he said it.

"The marks are left on purpose," she whispered, "someone knows we're investigating."

Today was a long day. Judy lay on her bed, exhausted, both physically and mentally. After seeing the crime scene, she and Nick went back to the ZPD to make a map of what they knew and didn't know, basically laying out all the information they had, which wasn't much at all. She also knew that now someone knew she was investigating. Maybe she just needed to take a break. She turned on her phone, which was left off since yesterday. Apparently she had missed a call, which was strange, since she knew her parents wouldn't call her in the middle of the day. Then she checked her voice messages. There was one. Nervously, she tapped on to listen.

"I'm sorry. I know I could've helped you, but I refused to. I want to help now. I didn't know how dangerous the situation was. There is a serum, multiple bottles of it inside the box. They make you stronger, faster, more predatory but-" multiple coughs, more and more now, "you won't" cough, cough, gasping for air "be yourself" more coughs, the voice was becoming hoarse and whispered, "control yourse..." The voice message ended.


	3. 3 Weeks Ago Part 3

**A.N.**

 **HAPPY WEEKEND! Let me present to you chapter 3 to celebrate! Thank you guys so much for reading, I'm glad most of you like it so far :D And good guesses so far... but sorry, no one has actually predicted the outcome I have planned at the moment! I hope you like this chapter and please review :) Oh and I also want someone to make a cover for this fic, if you're interested in making one please PM me with a link to your artwork. I will pick one winner around April 6th or 7th ;) it's kind of like a contest, isn't it :P The main idea will probably be revealed in this chapter (not how she gets pregnant though, there are 2 weeks left, be patient).**

 **To those who review: thank you so much! Every review means a lot to me :D**

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Nick felt rather threatened taking the case that they did. He was way paranoid than before, and today was only the fourth day on this case. He had heard the day before that Judy was going to be leaving for the weekend -at least today was still Thursday- to visit her family for some kind of reason. Speaking of family, his would definitely be proud to hear that he actually had a job, but would they really be happy, especially his father, a con-man like he use to be, to know that he was stopping some people from earning what little they could earn in Zootopia by using... a few fraudulent methods? He didn't know, nor did he want to know. He was happy for Judy though. That morning, before he went out, he found Judy at his door.

"The thieves are auctioning the box!" She said between breaths.

"What?"

"I saw the logo on the box, it was that box, they were carrying it inside an science equipment auction or something," she panted, though now her breaths less rapid. "We need to go!"

Being dragged and breakfast-less, Nick went out the door with Judy and into the car.

"Woah, did you already go to the office?" Nick asked, surprised.

"I've been there all night," she put the keys in and started the engine. Even through her determination, Nick saw her exhaustion.

"We still have time, cottontail. There's no time limit for this. You need rest."

"And money, if we're going to win this auction. We can't let anyone else have the box, it might be our only chance!" She exclaimed, all stressed out. She was now heading towards the bank.

"Does the chief know about this?" Nick asked curiously, and she nodded.

"He gave me permission to withdraw from the ZPD's account. We can't lose."

"Okay," Nick simply said and looked out the window. He didn't really want to bother her determined mood at the moment. But really, money wasn't necessary if they were just going to take the thing for investigation. Judy was in too much of a rush to be thinking clearly.

At the bank, Nick waited in the car while Judy went to withdraw money. His stomach growled, and he sighed. He was so hungry right now, he could eat a whole sheep. Maybe that Bellwether, who was now in jail thanks to him and his partner, but she probably wouldn't taste that good. Wow, his thoughts had trailed off. He hadn't had any meat since the day he met Judy, mainly because he avoided going to the black market that butchered prey criminals. Then he saw someone selling food on the street. It was that stupid bunny Ronnie. He was right there, selling different types of berries, telling everyone about how good they were or what type of berry was good for what. Because of his pride, he couldn't lower himself to need someone like Ronnie. And so he left his stomach growling. Judy had finally come back with a briefcase, which Nick presumed was full of money.

"You do realize this makes no sense, right? You want us to buy the box? Don't we have special privileges as police officers?" Nick asked, while Judy turned on the engine.

"Just in case," Judy grinned, "think ahead, Nick."

She drove right past Ronnie, and it was quite obvious that she did not see him making a fortune of her parent's berries.

The auction hall was not large, and it was already packed with people; almost all the seats were full. The only thing notable about it was were the multiple chandeliers. It didn't seem like a legal event, so Nick insisted that they changed into anything that wasn't their ZPD uniform. In the end, Nick was wearing a suit and tie with his favorite sunglasses, while Judy wore a poofy pink dress. Nick snickered at the sight, and Judy furrowed her brow.

"This is ridiculous!" She huffed. "Why do I have to look like a baby? I'm an adult, for heaven's sake! If you were such a good con artist, I don't see why you couldn't 'borrow' something nicer!"

He grinned. "Who said I didn't think this was 'nice'? I've always wanted to see a bunny in pink."

"Where did you get the clothes anyway? They couldn't have just been lying around and there aren't any stores nearby."

"Let's just say that two people would look terrifically fit for going to Mystic Springs Oasis."

"You mean the naked place?" Judy asked; she didn't recall the exact name of the place where all the animals were naked. She shuddered at the thought of it. An elephant doing yoga was something she could never unsee.

Nick smirked. "Maybe."

There was nothing Judy could do now and an idiotic smile was tugging at her lips, she could only hope that the animal without this poofy pink dress was better off without it. Nick though... did look excellent in a tux. So she just rolled her eyes, pretending to be annoyed, and motioned to go into the hall. It had started a while ago, and they were still bidding on the third item. Some kind of microscope. The weasel wearing a tux and a red bowtie up on stage looked extremely eager to sell.

They stood there bored until the box came out.

"$4000, anyone?" The weasel called, and Judy immediately put up her card.

A hippo had put up his or her card too. "5000," he said crisply.

"6000!" Judy shouted, and another card went up.

"8000," a lady said. Her voice was familiar, but Judy couldn't remember who that was. She couldn't even tell what animal she was since she was wearing a cloak that hid all her features.

"10000," the hippo managed, though there was a strain to his face.

The lady looked like she had given up, and immediately left the hall.

"10001!" Judy yelled, and everyone turned to look at the bunny in the pink poofy dress that cried out such a large amount of money. Her face turned as pink as her dress.

"100000," the hippo said, and Judy's blush paled. The ZPD didn't have that much money in the account. $10000 was already pushing it.

"Going once, going twice, AND IT'S SOLD TO YOU, SIR! I will be giving out the items at the back, so those who have won the bidding, please climb on up here backstage to pay and receive your item."

Everyone else in the hall left, while those who bought items climbed the stage and walked to the back of the red curtains. The two officers followed those who had bought items with their badges and weapons in hand.

They waited until the weasel was giving the hippo his item.

"ZPD," Nick said as he walked up to the weasel. "We would like to investigate that box."

The hippo in the baggy hoodie beside him looked disgruntled. "I bought this for a large amount of money! No one is taking this..."

"We would just like to open it, if there's nothing that's that big of a deal, we will gladly let you have your box," Judy said calmly in an attempt to appease the hippo.

The hippo turned to the weasel. "Sir Weaselton, do you allow this!?"

Sir Weaselton shook his head. "Look, I'm sorry. I've sold it to him, it's his property now. See you guys."

The weasel in the tux left with four checks that no doubt had large numbers written on them.

The hippo grunted in... _was that joy?_ and spun around to leave.

"Oh no you don't. We could easily arrest you and bring you in for questioning," Nick said smoothly and raised his gun, which had sedatives as bullets.

The hippo smiled menacingly. "You think that can stop me?" He began laughing. Nick shot, aimed right at his chest. Seeing that nothing had happened, he shot three more times. He knew that larger animals required more to put down. But there were only ten of those darts in his gun and he could only hope that they were enough to stop a huge, heavy animal. The hippo easily took them out, showing no sign of drowsiness or any of the symptoms that were suppose to accompany the sedative injections.

Then, the hippo swiped at Nick, who swiftly dodged it by stepping back. Now, Judy had her gun in her hand. Her's was actually filled with bullets. The hippo was about to hurt Nick, and this would obviously be self defense. She fired two at the hippo's legs but the hippo didn't even budge. Instead, he lunged for Nick, and clawed -his hand was mutated, just like Professor Ploddenton's- at Nick, who was still firing. He only had one more shot left. The fox didn't fire the last shot, and instead, grabbed Judy by the wrist and ran. Judy was still firing, she still had quite a few bullets left.

"Run all you want. I won't forget you two though, Officer Wilde and Officer Hopps," the hippo snarled but it turned into another vicious smile, "if you can run away quickly enough."

The hippo started chasing them, while Judy fired, the bullets making almost no dent in his thick skin. Nick and Judy kept running towards the car, but the hippo was gaining in on them. Nick jumped off the stage with Judy and fumbled -foxes couldn't jump as well as rabbits could- and Judy ended up pulling him up. But it wasn't quick enough. The clawed hippo managed to jump down without hesitation and claw Nick's back. Four red streaks of blood appeared from the back of his suit as she heard him wince. The enemy seemed satisfied for a while, but it wasn't enough. Judy kept shooting, but nothing seemed to harm the hippo. He was laughing as loud as ever. Judy dragged Nick, who winced every step. The claw marks were probably deep.

"It hurts, a lot. I'm slowing you down. You can go get backup. I can handle it," Nick said, teeth clenched as he tried to keep up with Judy. Looking at Judy's worried face, he gave a weak smile. "I'm slick remember? I'll figure something out. Go."

"I can't leave you like this! If you think I could then-" Judy started to protest, but Nick launched her forward but not before whispering something in her ear. She almost cried, but she held the tears in. She was an officer, duty came first. When Nick stopped running, the hippo stopped chasing and smiled deviously. It took a second for the hippo to actually halt because of its weight. At times like this, Judy hated Nick so much. So so much. Him thinking that she would be okay if something happened to him while she was unharmed. It wasn't okay. And then whispering into her ear _I've always_ like _liked you_. She thought they agreed to not bring it up since the day before. Though she wanted to stay and do something, _anything_ , she ran in the opposite direction, knowing that this was the only way she could help him. Once she was out the auctioning hall, she took out her phone and called the ZPD. Clawhauser answered with his usual jovial tone.

"Backup! We need it RIGHT NOW!" Judy shouted into the phone, thinking she could apologize for killing off some of his ear cells later. She quickly told him the address, which Clawhauser copied down correctly the first time.

"They'll be there in five to ten minutes, you guys will be okay!" Clawhauser said to her before he hung up. _Yeah right,_ she thought bitterly. She needed to find weapons, something that could bring the hippo down. She went down the building's hallway, looking for anything useful.

Nick kept running. And he took off the stupid tuxedo jacket. He knew he lost a lot of blood, everywhere he looked at was red and every move was pain. Right now he was on top of a chandelier, which he managed to climb with the help of staircase and the curtain that he climbed and swung on. His claws had come in handy. _At least I have natural claws_ , he thought, remembering the hippo's artificial, extremely sharp ones. There were about ten little chandeliers on the ceiling, and each was accessible from another when he swung by the right force. The hippo looked like he was going to climb up with him, but he didn't. Instead, he began throwing things from the ground like chairs or tables, anything that would get Nick off the chandeliers, or anything that would get the chandeliers off the ceiling. He dodged three to four times, but bit by bit, the hippo was getting closer to getting him off. Every time something hit the chandelier, bulbs broke and glass cut into his skin. Everything hurt. If only he could... _Unscrew the chandeliers from the ceiling._ Quickly, Nick dropped one of the last three chandeliers remaining, and swung to another one. Luckily, they were easy to unscrew off the ceiling. This chandelier landed close to the hippo, but it didn't hit on spot. One more. If he fell from here, maybe he'd get a severe back injury or a broken leg. Or worse case scenario, death. At least he had seen Judy in a pink poofy dress. The hippo threw another chair. Nick swung from that chandelier to the last one on the ceiling. The dropped chandelier crashed with the chair, sending hundreds of small glass shards down. One of them, or more, he hoped, managed to pierce the hippo's eyeball. The hippo cried in pain, and Nick felt himself relax for a second. Hopefully, he wasn't going to die today. His adrenaline was all burned out, he felt a bit dizzy. To avoid falling, he clutched on to the fancy lights as tightly as he could with the remaining energy he had.

The hippo was, for the moment, blinded and trying to get the glass shard out of his eye. Judy had found a rope, which she found from the curtains in another room and nibbled off using her teeth. She ran around the hippo, and pulled the rope after she made sure that the rope was around the him. It wasn't easy -she had pulled more than four times- to bring the hippo down, but she had managed to make him lose balance. The hippo fell with a large thud, almost like an earthquake. It was then, through the few seconds of silence, had she noticed the amount of the blood that was around the floor. Glass stained in red were everywhere, as well as part of the floor itself. The curtain near the stage was coated in maroon, which was obviously blood. Only one chandelier was left on the ceiling, and Nick was on it, covered in blood. He had taken off his tuxedo and was now in a plain white collar shirt, which was in tatters and stained in red all over the place.

"Nick," at first a whisper, "NICK!" She shouted, hoping that he was still conscious. There was no response. Tears began welling in her eyes, and once they started coming out, they wouldn't stop. _I_ like _like you too. Maybe I always did. Why do you like childish terms like '_ like _like'? I don't know when I fell for you._ From far away, she heard sirens. The backup was here. They were late. If they had come earlier... But he might not be dead. Though the amount of blood he lost looked like a huge amount, he still might be alive. _He has to be_ , Judy thought furiously. _He has to be._

Chief Bogo came in and observed the scene. He looked startled, not expecting so much blood everywhere. Then he looked up to where Nick was. He ordered the rhino to find a ladder and take Nick down from the chandelier and send him to the hospital immediately; calling an ambulance might take extra time. He ordered the others to take care of the hippo on the ground.

"Report," he said in a tone, less harsher than usual. He didn't even question why Judy was dressed in such a girly and idiotic fashion.

Judy wiped her tears and told him everything: about the serum and about what it could do, why they were here, who the hippo on the ground was and what they had learned from Dr. Grass.

"A hippo with claws is interesting indeed," he murmured. "The serum is still here then? After you show me you are dismissed. I wish for the best."

Judy nodded, and led him to the stage and to backstage, where the box was. The hippo had put it down before he went to fight. Or was he working with others? The box was gone, the only sign that it had ever been there was the label that Weaselton had put on before selling it in the auction. The serum was gone.

 ** _Meanwhile_**

Amelia Grass sat down at her desk, replaying previous events in her mind. She had watched all the way of how the fox and the bunny had helped each other and then manage to take down the Roger the hippo. Though she didn't get the serum in the auction, she had learned something extremely valuable. Nick and Judy were the perfect test subjects for her experiment. She already had their DNA, which she had collected from their saliva when they sipped through the straws when they had ice tea. All she had to do was start the process. Of making an Amalgam.


	4. 3 Weeks Ago Part 4

**A.N.**

 **I'm sorry for not updating, I've been quite busy with school stuff... and I have to say I haven't really been on this site for a while. YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN SO INCREDIBLY PATIENT! Thanks for reading, and, of course, I especially appreciate reviews. Tell me what you think! I may have rushed this chapter a bit because I want to get on to the good stuff :P**

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Judy waited outside quietly, alone. Night time had come sooner than she wanted it to, and it was getting cold. She was still in the poofy pink dress and had not moved since he had been brought to the hospital. No one had told her anything. Right now she was expecting the worst. How could he have influenced her this much? At first she didn't like him at all, how he tricked her into buying something for him that he was going to use illegally. How he evaded taxes. How he was a fox, an animal that she somewhat despised -those were the days the fox repellent didn't leave her side. She put her head into her arms. She would wait.

Ronnie counted the amount of money he made. It was loads, who knew he had so much potential? If he just overcame his fear of predators, he'd be totally fine living in Zootopia. He could start a life there with Judy, and her parents would be more than happy. He'd also have whole access to their plant supply. Together they would marry, get rich, have children, and be happy. Whichever order was okay, as long as his four wishes came true. He had always had a crush on Judy and often wondered if she had someone she liked. Probably not, there were barely any bunnies in Zootopia, they were simply too timid to live in such a place. But Ronnie was becoming braver. Every time he was scared, he would just think of Judy and everything would be okay. She was a police officer and would probably do anything to save a fellow bunny. What he found weird though, was how well she was working with a fox. He still hadn't come to trust foxes. Bunnies that lived near where the foxes lived in the burrow were often deceived and treated like trash. At least they weren't eaten. He was somewhat rich now. Now for the second thing. Have children or marry. Be happy was too vague for now. Well, then it was time to attract his good friend to him!

The next morning came slowly. The doctors had told her that Nick's condition was stable enough, they had found some fox blood in their blood stash. However, it wasn't enough to fully support the most expedient recovery, so he was still monitored in a special room. That she _couldn't_ enter. It pained her every time she thought she was never going to see him again, but now she had hope. He would be okay. Waiting in the hospital was probably a horrible idea, since it was just going to make her irritated and want to rip her own ears out. She ended up going back to the ZPD. What she found weird was Ronnie there waiting. It was a strange sight, seeing a usually scared-to-death bunny there. He was wearing a hoodie and Judy spotted a can inside his pocket. Probably fox repellent.

"Hey," she said, trying to sound as bright and perky as possible, as if nothing was wrong. the last thing she wanted Ronnie to know -and then her parents since Ronnie was too close to her parents for some kind of reason- was that she was out fighting a mutated hippo with claws who almost murdered her partner. "What are you doing here?"

"I was just thinking... before you go home tomorrow," Ronnie fidgeted with his paws, nervous, "could you show me around here? I mean..." _it would be a good chance for you to see that I'm a great match for you and we could live happily ever after_ , he thought, but instead continued, "I'm not the type of person who would stay in Zootopia for a long time. I might as well take a tour. And... well, to me, you're my best option." _Will always be my best option_ , he wanted to add, but thought it would be a bit too creepy. And he wasn't going to take the risk.

"Well... I have work," She started, but looking at how lonely Ronnie seemed to be in the middle of a whole town of animals he was scared of made her want to protect him. "I'll check with the chief."

She went in the ZPD building and walked to Chief Bogo's office. Did she really want to do this for Ronnie? She had a whole case to work on, and it was crucial that she had work done. She had already asked for the weekend off to visit her family -though she was planning to figure out more about the case while she was there, since she would always keep the case files in arms reach- and asking for today, seemed ridiculous. Nick was in the hospital, and it would make much more sense for her to stay there and have hourly updates on his recovery. But of course it wasn't easy; he had lost a lot of blood and it was going to take a while to recover. Sitting there would mean that she was useless. And she absolutely _hated_ being useless. Doing the case without Nick simply felt wrong, and she didn't want to do anything today that required him being present. But then... she could actually go question the hippo that was captured yesterday. Ronnie would have to wait. Instead of asking Chief Bogo whether or not she could take a friend out to day, she asked if she could go visit the hippo that was captured the other day.

Ronnie frowned with disappointment as he saw the text from Judy. Of course. Work. Or did she simply like hanging out with the fox? That officer Wilde seemed dangerous, he obviously he had other motives to what he was doing. So why was Judy trusting him? A fox could probably handle anything with his or her slyness, craftiness and wit. Now he was disappointed in himself. How could he be jealous of her coworker whom Judy could also be afraid of? Well, at least she was going to go with him in the afternoon. Sighing, he went to his usual spot to sell the herbs. He had let Judy's parents send them over the last few days, saying that Judy wanted to see the plants. She didn't, not really since she didn't have the time, but she did show that she was quite interested. And so he ended up selling them as a miracle cure. In a few days, he had become more and more interested in herbology. They were technically only plants. He was selling plants, nothing too illegal. Nothing too illegal. This had given him an idea.

Judy shuddered as she entered the cell. It was cold, and at the same time, she didn't want to face the hippo. But she still needed answers, and nothing was going to stop her from that. She had to go home tomorrow anyway, her parents could get so annoying. Sometimes she wished that they could understand that work _was_ actually the most important thing to her, a lot of lives could be at stake. The hippo was tied back, arms behind the chair. He wore an eyepatch over his left eye. Probably from the glass.

"Oh, it's you," he snarled as she walked up and took a seat in front of him.

Judy put on a professional indifferent mask. "Yes, it's me. Do you have anything you want to say voluntarily or would you like me to ask you questions?"

He snickered. "What's in it for me?"

"Not much, I suppose. But your sentence could be shortened or lengthened depending on how cooperative you are."

The hippo did not reply, and avoided looking at Judy.

"What did you want to do with the content that you bought?" She asked clearly with authority.

Again, no reply came.

"I swear, if you don't offer any information, it's going to be at _your_ loss. Not your boss, _yours_. "

"My boss will break me out of here anyway, cutie," he said with a vicious smile.

"With what? This place is heavily guarded, especially since people like you come along."

"You don't even know half of the story, you _cute_ _little_ bunny. My boss already has the serum."

How did he know? Arguing was getting her somewhere. At least he was talking. She chose to provoke him some more.

"Serum to do what? Make more animals like you? Mutated and violent? If your boss has the new ones, why would he or she want _you_? Maybe you've already gone obsolete."

"I won't be, I was his first experiment after all. I'm most loyal."

So it was a he. Judy suddenly remembered professor Ploddenton's message about the serum taker not being him or herself. "Okay Mr. Loyal, is this really what _you_ want? To get the serum? How does any of this benefit you?"

There was no reply, and Judy almost smiled bitterly. So it was true then. Controlled.

Nick woke up around dusk with everything feeling stiff and aching. He groaned as he sat himself up. The nurse walked in with a small smile.

"How are you feeling?" She asked, holding her clipboard, pencil at the ready.

" _Great_ , really," he wanted to roll his eyes, was she honestly asking if someone who was almost bleeding to death the previous day okay the next? "So, uh, how long is it gonna take me to get better?"

"Let me see, well, I've heard from the doctor that it would take at least a couple of days?"

"But I really need to," he groaned as he moved a bit too quickly, "do something."

"You need rest, Mr. Wilde," the nurse simply said, "call me if you need anything," and walked out of the room.

Defeated, he allowed his head to rest of the pillow. Of course, his mind wasn't resting. That hippo who had almost killed him -how did he have claws? hippos weren't supposed to have claws- was probably arrested by now, and hopefully, Judy was questioning him. But what could he have possibly wanted? The most he was was a henchman, not anybody else. And what about that other relatively tall animal who was looking for the serum too? She had lost, but why did she want it in the first place? He had so many questions, and he couldn't do anything. All he could do was lie in bed. How stupid, useless, and... That was when Judy walked in.

"Hey," she said, sounding exhausted. It was like she hadn't slept at all. She didn't know he was awake until she saw his ears perk up at the sound of her voice. Then everything else was a blur as she almost launched herself on him.

"Ow, carrots, I'm almost completely sure that you need sleep."

Judy felt a string of words leave her mouth. "Me? Why are you even talking about me? You weren't okay at all! I came immediately when I heard you woke up and they moved you and then I thought you okay but I didn't expect you to be this okay like honestly-"

Nick, despite himself hurting everywhere, pulled Judy in. She was soft and smelled of grass and something else that he couldn't quite place. It was sweet, though, and he liked it.

"How's your day?" He whispered into her fur.

"It kind of sucked without you. And worrying, you know. That didn't make things exceptionally good either."

A smile creeped up Nick's face before he knew it.

"I would hit you and that stupid grin off your face but you're hospitalized," Judy said mockingly, and Nick smirked.

"You wouldn't."

"Yes, I would!"

This conversation lasted way longer than it should have. Judy loved talking and especially bantering with Nick. It made everything better. She almost forgot that she needed to show Ronnie around and go home for the weekend since her parents missed her.

"I need to go. I'll see you on Monday," she said, jumping down from the bed.

"If you say so. I'll be here. For. A. Whole. Few. Days."

Judy smiled. "I can definitely make those days a lot shorter when I come back."

"Yeah? How are you going to do that?"

Judy gave a mischievous smile before walking out the door. She had no idea what she was implying, but, well, it was fun watching Nick being confused. That know-it-all sly fox needed to be confused at least sometimes, right?

Nick felt nonplussed, but then realized what it could mean. But it couldn't mean that, could it? Well, and he never really thought about... doing it with a bunny? I mean, that was strangely inappropriate and- he didn't know what to think anymore.

Ronnie waited. Judy had texted him and told him that she would be right there. After a while, she finally came, fur a bit ruffled but otherwise fine.

"You're so hardworking, Judy. I wish I could be more like you," he said with a small smile.

"Sorry, I just really needed to do something. But I'm here now. What do you want to see first?"

"Um. Well, what do you recommend?"

Ronnie smiled, he was going to get the girl today. If not, the weekend. In an hour, their train would be here and they would be heading back to Bunny Burrow and they would have the best time of their lives. Well, _he_ would be having the best time and he would try his best.

"We have one hour so I guess we could have some fun in the park, you know. Just walk around for old times sake?"

Ronnie eagerly nodded.

"I'm sorry it's not a lot..."

"It's completely fine, Judy. The best part of being here was seeing you," Ronnie said sincerely.

Judy beamed. "It's nice seeing you here too, being brave and all."

At the park, the two walked and talked about whatever that came to mind. It wasn't the worst walk that Judy had, but it was one of those walks that had a lot of talk about plants. And maybe an occasional compliment from Ronnie. It wasn't bad, of course, but something about the way he commented her made her uncomfortable. maybe it was because it didn't seem natural...? Not like the way Nick did it. Easy and smooth, saying a compliment as if it were like a greeting. Ronnie's felt a little bit forced, and he always seemed nervous. Judy supposed that that was just who Ronnie was, and she had gotten too use to the open and confident nature of those who resided in Zootopia.

The two were now walking toward the station when she felt arms reach for her. She immediately turned back to see who it was but the force was too strong and she was basically already trapped. She struggled against the grip, but the more she moved, the more she could feel the animal's claws digging into her body.

"Judy!" Ronnie shouted, extremely alarmed.

Judy was reaching for her weapon, but the kidnapper prevented it.

"I told you, cutie." And her world went black as she felt a needle in her shoulder, Ronnie's shouts fading.

Judy woke up tied up in an oversized chair right next to Ronnie, who was in the same situation, in some sort of lab that was illuminated by a faint blue light. It wasn't that big, and it felt as if the walls were closing in on her. There were test tubes, needles, some sort of knives... scapels? Judy didn't know the technical term. Were they going to do something to her?! She needed to be calm, then she could figure out the situation rationally. _Do people make these labs creepy on purpose?_ she thought to herself as she attempted to tug her wrists from the ropes. No use. Ronnie finally woke up too.

"Oh my God," he said in a panicked voice. "what... what do I do?!"

"Don't worry, I'm going to get us out of here," Judy said, trying to be reassuring. Now she hated herself for being a model citizen and always trimming her claws into perfection... and being useless. Her weapons were taken as well. She looked around for anything, and her gaze landed on Ronnie's panicked face.

"Ronnie, could you try to bite off the ropes?"

Ronnie looked down at his paws, confused.

"At my ropes. I don't want to be the one to accidentally bite you or something. That way it'll hurt less for you," she said with a small smile.

"Judy..." He started, but whatever objection he had was interrupted by Judy saying "Hurry."

He started gnawing at her rope, which was frankly pretty easy to break. But in the process, he had accidentally bit into some of her fur and her flesh thinking that it was rope.

"Sorry," he mumbled. Judy nodded, keeping him going. An approval from Judy was the only thing he needed before continuing what needed to be done.

After a few minutes, the rope finally broke. Judy rubbed her wrists, which looked irritated and a bit red. She then untied the knots that bound her to the chairs and helped Ronnie. This probably took a total of ten minutes, and nobody was showing up to the lab, which Judy found very strange. It was as if they wanted her and Ronnie to escape. But then, why would they have captured them in the first place? She looked at Ronnie, who looked relieved yet frightened at the same time.

"Judy, can we leave now?" He asked.

"Yeah, let's go home from here somehow." She replied, unable to shake off the feeling that something may have been done to them.


End file.
